China factory workers protest pensions

From Seattlepi.com: “Thousands of retired textile factory workers in an eastern Chinese industrial center blocked traffic in a weekend protest over the failure of their pensions to keep pace with rising prices, officials and labor advocates said Monday.

Officials in Bengbu, a city in eastern Anhui province, said government departments were meeting to discuss options for raising pensions after several days of protests that brought some 10,000 people into the streets.

Anger at corruption and abuses runs deep in many parts of China and protests by ordinary people, disgruntled investors and laid off workers are common. Though China bans all public dissent, authorities often tolerate nonviolent protests, especially by retirees.”